The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Physicians and other healthcare providers often find the need or desire to communicate among one another in the course of providing medical care. For example, physicians may desire to communicate with one another to obtain information about medical questions or issues that are outside of a physician's area of expertise, to discuss issues related to a mutual patient, or to refer a new patient. In general, communication among physicians and other healthcare providers is an important tool for providing well-rounded care for patients.
Currently, physicians may attempt to discuss medical issues with another by meeting informally during the physicians' daily rounds at a hospital or by attempting to call or email one another. However, physicians are typically under tremendous time pressure to see patients, answer phone calls, review test results, etc., and finding a mutually available time for two or more physicians to collaborate about a particular issue is often difficult. As a result, attempts by one physician to reach another physician may often result in message taking, phone calls back and forth, and other delays in making contact that make the collaboration process highly inefficient.
Furthermore, with an increasing amount of specialization and sub-specialization among those practicing medicine, finding the most appropriate person to answer a particular question may be challenging. For example, a physician seeking advice on a particular medical issue may not be personally acquainted with another physician with the appropriate expertise and that is able to readily discuss the issue.
Another issue facing physicians today is an increased focus in the medical community on evidence-based best practices including the use of various guidelines and other medical references developed by expert consensus within each medical specialty. While these resources are becoming increasingly accessible online to physicians, the proliferation of these resources often makes it difficult for physicians to determine which resources may be the most relevant and up-to-date when information is needed, especially in practice areas outside of a physician's own area of expertise.